Suu Kyi says: she hoped it will mark the beginning of a new era

 Aung San Suu Kyi claimed victory on Monday in Myanmar's historic by-election, saying she hoped it will mark the beginning of a new era for the long-repressed country.

Suu Kyi spoke to thousands of cheering supporters who gathered outside her opposition party headquarters a day after her party claimed she had won a Parliamentary seat in the closely watched vote.

"The success we are having is the success of the people," Suu Kyi said. "It is not so much our triumph as a triumph of the people who have decided that they have to be involved in the political process in this country."

"We hope this will be the beginning of a new era," she said, as supporters chanted her name and thrust their hands into the air to flash "V'' for victory signs.

The election sets the stage for the former political prisoner to take public office for the first time and lead a small bloc of opposition lawmakers in Myanmar's military-dominated Parliament.

Official results are expected within the next few days.

If confirmed, the victory would mark a major milestone in the Southeast Asian nation that is emerging from a ruthless era of military rule and also an astonishing reversal of fortune for a woman who became one of the world's most prominent prisoners of conscience.

The former junta had kept Suu Kyi imprisoned in her lakeside home for the better part of two decades. When she was finally released in late 2010, just after a general election that was deemed neither free nor fair, few could have imagined she would so quickly make the leap from democracy advocate to elected official — opening the way for a potential presidential run in 2015.

Pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi welcomed US engagement

Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed on today US engagement with Myanmar saying she hoped it would set her long-isolated country on the road to democracy.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held a final meeting with Suu Kyi as she wrapped up a landmark visit to Myanmar which saw the new civilian government pledge to forge ahead with political reforms and re-engage with the world community.

Hillary and Suu Kyi - the Nobel laureate who has come to symbolize the pro-democracy aspirations of Myanmar's people - held a private dinner on Thursday and met again on Friday at Suu Kyi's lakeside home, effectively her prison until she was released last November after years in detention.

"We are happy with the way in which the United States is engaging with us and it is through engagement that we hope to promote a process of democratization," said Suu Kyi, adding that Hillary’s visit was a "historical moment" for both countries.

The two women spoke together for about an hour and a half. They later stood on a verandah, holding hands as they spoke to reporters.

Hillary’s trip follows a decision by US President Barack Obama last month to open the door to expanded ties, saying he saw "flickers of progress" in a country until recently seen as a reclusive military dictatorship firmly aligned with China.

Suu Kyi said she welcomed more support for Myanmar including World Bank and International Monetary Fund assessment missions which she said would help the country figure out how to get its economy on track.

She also called on the military-backed government to do more to ensure the rule of law, which she said would prevent the arrest of more political prisoners.

She said she would work with the new government, the opposition and friendly countries including the United States and China for a better future for her country.

Hillary’s trip - the first by a senior US official in more than 50 years - represents an opportunity for both Myanmar and the United States, and both appear eager to press ahead with rapprochement.

Myanmar's new leadership hopes the United States will eventually see its way clear to ease or remove sanctions, a step which could open the resource-rich but desperately poor country to more foreign trade and investment and help it catch up to booming neighbors such as Thailand and India.

Myanmar`s Suu Kyi praises US engagement For Washington, improved ties with Myanmar could underscore Obama's determination to up US engagement in Asia and balance China's fast-growing economic, military and political influence.